Promise Me
by yumi-maki
Summary: Troublesome woman,' Shikamaru muttered as he moved aside to make room for her, 'don't you know that hospital beds are only made for one person.' Sequel to Waiting.


**Promises**

**#44 Grass/Submission**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Temari and Yoshino looked up as they heard the click, clack of high heels coming down the hall. Temari took a deep breath as she saw Tsunade's youthful form approaching - finally, they would get some answers.

Tsunade came to a stop in front of the two women, glancing quickly from one anxious face to another before letting a smile grace her own, "He's stable."

Yoshino breathed out a sigh of relief. Temari, still anxious though, rose halfway, eyeing Tsunade intently, "So he's going to be all right?"

Tsunade nodded, "Yes. He'll need a few weeks to recover but he's going to be fine."

Temari dropped back into her seat, letting out a quiet word-sigh, "Good."

"Thank you so much, Tsunade-sama," Yoshino said, standing and going over to the Hokage, "We really appreciate all that you've done for him."

Normally, Temari didn't like it when people spoke for her but in this case, she welcomed it - she was still reeling from the shock of nearly losing her husband. After a few minutes, she looked up, fully recovered, "May we see him now?"

Tsunade nodded again, "Yes but one at a time. I don't want him to take on too much just yet."

Yoshino was already speaking by the time Temari looked at her, "You go on, Temari-chan. I'll just run home and get some things for him and let Shikaku and the others know how he is."

Temari smiled - her first real smile since he'd left for that mission - she understood the sacrifice that Yoshino was making for her (after all, she was sure that Yoshino wanted to see him as badly as she did.) "Thank you Yoshino." Temari said, rising from her seat.

"Come along," Tsunade said, turning and starting back the way she came, "I'll show you to his room."

Temari nodded a good-bye to Yoshino, then followed Tsunade down a number of passageways before stopping in front of a closed door. Tsunade stepped back and turned to Temari, "Well, you can go in. I'm not sure if he's awake yet."

Temari nodded, then reached out and grasped the doorknob. She waited until Tsunade was gone to turn it, pull the door open and enter the room. The smell of fresh blood hit her instantly but she took a deep breath anyway before turning her eyes to her husband's bruised, bloodied, bandaged body.

His eyes were closed. She moved over to the bed, reaching out and touching his face gently. She closed her eyes as her fingers met warm skin. "Shikamaru," she whispered, a small smile on her face, "open your eyes and stop pretending to be asleep."

She opened her own just in time to see his face contort into a grin, "I thought you were my mother."

She rolled her eyes and stifled a chuckle, "Shame on you, Shikamaru. Your mother's been sitting out there with me for the past however many hours - the least you could do is say a word or two to her."

He groaned quietly, "Jeez woman, you're scolding me already! Fine. When she comes in, I promise I won't pretend to be asleep."

Temari smiled, relieved at hearing his familiar drawl again, even if it was a little hoarse. She then proceeded to clamber into the bed with him, settling in and fitting herself against him.

Shikamaru frowned but inwardly relaxed as he felt her familiar weight beside him. "Troublesome woman, hospital beds are only made for one person," he muttered, groaning a little as she accidentally pressed his stomach wound.

"Oh!" She pulled her hand back quickly, then looked down at the place where it had been.

He glanced at her, "Do you want to see it?"

She shook her head, expression suddenly morose, "No." 

She glanced up at him then, vulnerability and a very real fear reflected in her eyes, "Shikamaru..." _Don't leave me. Don't ever leave me._

He sighed quietly, then slipped his arm around her and pulled her closer, resting his chin on top of her head, "You know I can't promise you that, Temari."

Her head rustled the fabric of his clothes as she nodded, "I know," she replied quietly, "I know."

Shikamaru pretended not to notice when the wind outside his window subsequently picked up, ripping off a number of blades of grass and taking them off to who knows where. Instead he just rubbed his wife's back, slowly, gently, reassuringly and closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her body against his.

**A/N: That was happy, right? I mean...kinda. Inspired by Grey's Anatomy - Izzie getting into the hospital bed with Denny. If you were wondering why I made a sequel instead of adding another chapter to Waiting, it's because the rules of 30 flowers stipulate that you must have 30 individual stories.**


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